N.J. student who sued parents drops suit, reconciles

Rachel Canning appears in court on March 4. Canning, 18, is suing her parents to pay for her college education. Online, a 22-year-old USF student who shares Canning's name has been mistaken for the New Jersey teen.

ROSELAND, N.J. (CBSNews.com) - The New Jersey honor student who sued to get her parents to support her after she moved out of their home has reunited with them, and the family is now asking for privacy.

The lawyer representing Rachel Canning's parents, made the request during a news conference on Wednesday.

Angelo Sarno says the 18-year-old's return is not contingent on any financial or other considerations. He says that the suit has been settled "amicably," but refused to comment further on the suit.

Sarno said the notoriety surrounding the suit had done damage to the family, and they are asking for privacy.

Last week, a judgedenied Canning's emergency requestfor $600 a month in support, high school and college tuition and legal fees. Superior Court Judge Peter Bogaard hinted that ruling in the teen's favor could set a dangerous legal precedent, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.

"Do we want to establish a precedent where parents living in constant fear of establishing basic rules of the house?" Bogaard said.

The cheerleader and lacrosse player had been staying with a friend's family since the beginning of November. Her friend's father, attorney and former Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino, had bankrolled the lawsuit.

"In the four months that Rachel had been with the Inglesinos, these people have not called her, they have not come to see her, they have not sent a penny to her or to her benefactors," the teen's attorney, Tanya Helfand, told the judge on March 4.

Her parents said in court she ran away from their home shortly before she turned 18 and deny they abused her. Her father is retired Lincoln Park Police Chief Sean Canning.

"To be clear, my clients never abandoned nor abused their child, and they have asked her to come home," their attorney, Laurie Rush-Masuret, told reporters last week.

Rush-Masuret said Rachel Canning did not want to follow house rules, including making curfew and breaking up with her boyfriend whom her parents considered trouble.